A vehicle “consist” is a group of vehicles that are mechanically coupled to travel together along a route. For example, a train is a type of vehicle consist comprising a group of rail vehicles coupled together to travel along a track. As the vehicle consist travels, forces on coupling mechanisms that connect adjacent vehicles in the consist may change. For example, accelerations and decelerations caused by changes in power outputs from the vehicle consist, changing grades in the terrain, curvatures in the route being traveled, and the like, may cause these mechanisms to experience tensile and compressive forces.
In order to safely operate the consist, the consist should be operated to keep the forces exerted on the coupling mechanisms from becoming too large (e.g., too large of tensile forces) or too small (e.g., too large of compressive forces). If the tensile forces become too large, the coupling mechanisms may break and thereby break apart the consist. If the compressive forces become too large, the vehicles connected by the coupling mechanisms may collide with each other.
Some techniques for monitoring the forces exerted on couplers include adding force sensors to the coupling mechanisms in order to measure the forces experienced by the coupling mechanisms. But, adding these sensors adds to the cost and complexity of the consist.